One of the things that I have learned as a parent of a
middle school student and as someone who has worked with middle school students
for nearly 20 years is that as much as I think I am “in the know”, I am not.
Regardless of how hard we, as parents, try to stay connected and stay informed,
we are often a step behind our kids. We don’t necessarily listen to all of the
music that they listen to, we are not part of their social media circles and we
are not part of the many conversations that they have with their peers
throughout a given day. Given that, any time we can share information and raise awareness about things we are seeing we will.
Recently there has been a resurgence with middle school and
high school students in the area making and consuming a drink called “lean”. It
is also commonly referred to as “sizzurp”, “purple drank”, “dirty sprite” or
“syrup”. While the drink has been around for nearly a decade, it has gained
increased popularity recently as it has been glamorized in some songs, videos
and social media postings. I knew very little about this last week, but I have
learned a great deal as use of “lean” by some of our students has started to
show up on my radar.
“Lean” is a combination of prescription strength or
over-the-counter cough medicine, citrus-flavored soda (typically Sprite) and a
piece of hard, fruit-flavored candy like a Jolly-Rancher. The drink is extremely
alarming for several reasons: #1 The sweetness of the drink masks the dangerous
drugs in it and can lead one to consume more because of the taste and as a
result, individuals can quickly lose track of how much they have actually
consumed. #2 “Lean” is made out of very easy to obtain ingredients, making it
easy to access for adolescents. #3 An uninformed adult or parent might not
necessarily keep track of or monitor the cough syrup in their home. So much
attention has been given to the abuse and misuse of prescription medication,
cough syrup has not been in that conversation. It needs to be, as does all
medication.
This dangerous drink can contain a potentially fatal
combination of codeine, a powerful opioid drug, and promethazine, an
antihistamine that causes sedative effects and can impair motor functioning. In
large doses, there can be extremely harmful side effects including dizziness
and blurred vision, as well as a slowing of the central nervous and respiratory
systems, impact heart rate and cause seizures. Combined with other medication
that students may be taking, the consumption of “lean” could be, and has been
in some cases, fatal.
Even though we may be out of the loop with some things, we
need to continue to talk with our kids, listen to them and be present in the
moment with them each and every day. Having on-going conversations about drug and alcohol use,
decision making, and how to handle peer pressure is critical. We also need to
be vigilant about storing and keeping track of all prescription and
over-the-counter medication in our homes. All of our kids are susceptible to
making bad decisions or being influenced in negative ways by their peers. It can happen to any of them.
As always, if you have any questions or if I can be of any
help please do not hesitate to email or call.
Steve Dunham
sdunham@westgenesee.org
Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms
